DIY Party Banner: Mickey Mouse Theme

I got a lot of my ideas for Henry's birthday party this year off of Pinterest.  I love that website!  This was no different.  The original blog post on this banner can be viewed here. 

I used the same materials to make the two Mickeys on either end that I used when I made the invitation.  Then I used the same bowl to trace enough circles for all the letters in Henry's name, and I used the cup to trace smaller circles on scrapbooking paper.  Glued those onto the cardstock circles and then added the silver letters once the circles had dried.  The next, and final step, was to punch a single hole in the side of circle and then tie them together with small pieces of ribbon.  Super easy, just a little time consuming, and soooo cute!  Everyone raved about it.  :)

John Update: 2 of 2

John's second surgery was this morning and it went really well!  I haven't spoken with his doctor, but from what I've heard from other hospital staff, it went well and was done in about an hour.

I was unable to be at the hospital this morning because I had to get Jacob to school, so after I dropped him off, Henry and I headed over to the hospital.  John's surgery was scheduled for 7:30 AM, so he was already in the OR being worked on when we got there.  We went to his room and hung out for an hour or so before I finally wandered down to the surgical unit to find out the status.  At this point it was about 10:30, and the volunteer who got an update for me informed me it was going to be about 45 more minutes before he was brought back to his room.  Well, by this time we had to be gone to pick Jacob up from school, so the kids didn't end up seeing John at all today, and I didn't see him until this evening and only for two hours.

Later this evening my mom came to stay with the kids, so I could go back to the hospital (the original plan was for Jacob to go, but he wanted to stay home, so I didn't argue ... a little alone time was fine with me :)).  I hung out with him for a few hours before I had to come home to get the kids ready for bed.

I just feel so bad for him.  :(  He's SO miserable today.  Much more than he was on Tuesday or Wednesday.  His whole body is sore from laying in the same position.  His back and side hurt (understandably so).  He's SO itchy from all the pain meds (we've started having a night "scratch session", where I just scratch his legs, sides, back and arms to try to help some).  I wish I could take the pain away or help in some way, but I'm helpless in that regard, so I've just been trying to do whatever I can to help while I'm able to be at the hospital.

Thank you, again, for all the thoughts and prayers again this week!

ETA: I forgot ... he was running a bit of a fever last night and is running one again this evening, so please pray he's not getting an infection.  :-/  The tylenol he took last night seemed to break it and it didn't come back, so I'm praying that's the case again tonight.

John Update: 1 of 2

John's surgery went amazingly well this morning!  Thank you to everyone who said a prayer or kept us in their thoughts.  :)

Neither of us slept well last night and we were both up around 4:30 this morning without the help of an alarm.  We got ready and headed to the hospital at 5:30.  Got him checked in and waited to be called back to pre-op.  They called him back right around 7 ... we did most of our waiting back in pre-op, actually.  After they got everything hooked up, I headed back out to the waiting room while they wheeled him off to the OR.  The really cool thing about Reston Hospital Center is the monitors they have in the surgical waiting room that updates you on the patients' status.  I've never been in a hospital that has this, so it was a nice to have that to rely on throughout the day.

Around 10, John's doctor finally came out to update me that his surgery had gone well, and that he was still sleeping and about to be moved to recovery.  After 2.5 more hours of waiting for a nurse to come get me, I finally asked the volunteer they had there and as it turned out he had been sent to the "secondary recovery" (aka, pre-op).  They were out of rooms at the moment in the hospital, so he had to wait there for one to open up.  I was finally able to go back to see him, and oh my goodness ... he looked amazing, sounded amazing and was just ... amazing!  lol  You could barely tell that anything had happened to him.  He's such a trooper!  I spent the next couple of hours reading while he dozed or talking to him when he was awake.  It was really nice to just spend that type of quality time together with no interruptions (i.e., the kids, lol).  It sucks it had to come under those circumstances, but I really enjoyed the alone time we spent this afternoon waiting for a room to open up.

Once he got settled in a room, I went home to see the kids.  By this time it was almost 4 in the afternoon and I hadn't seen them at all yet.  They seemed to be a bit out of sorts, or maybe it was just me since we weren't together all day we seemed to be a bit out of sync, so tonight was a little rough, but I have faith the rest of the week won't be as difficult.  We went to dinner with my parents and then I took the kids up to the hospital to see John (at his request, he missed them today!).  We didn't stay long because Henry was in to everything and Jacob was having a hard time listening, but at least John got to see them and they got to see him.  I can't wait to go back tomorrow morning to spend some more time with him, just have to find some toys that I can take with me to keep Henry occupied (we're going to go after I take Jacob to school).

Now that the day is over and I kept it together for everyone, though, I find myself falling apart.  :(  I miss my husband.  The house seems so empty without him here.  I hate that he's in pain, but I know it's just temporary.  This is ALL just temporary, but it's still hard nonetheless.

Tomorrow ...

has snuck up on me so fast!  We will be leaving the house around 5:30 AM tomorrow (Ugh!  I forget what it's like to get up so early!!) to head to the hospital for John's back surgery.  I'm a bundle of nerves, emotions and anxiety - I won't lie.  I keep trying to hide it from him, so he doesn't worry anymore than I'm sure he already is, but I'm sure I'm not doing a very good job of it.

Please keep us, but mainly John, in your prayers and thoughts tomorrow, and I will be updating our blog tomorrow night.

Happy birthday, Henry Joseph!!

It's hard to believe it's already been two years.  These two years have totally flown by, and I am NOT a fan of that!  I wish I could freeze time, so I could keep you small forever.

You're growing in to such a lively, out-going little man.  You love to play with your big brother, cuddle with your mama and go for walks with your daddy.    You make us laugh all the time with your cute little sense of humor.

You recently entered the "terrible twos" ... constantly getting into everything you shouldn't be and then laughing hysterically when we tell you "no" and/or redirect you to something else.  We have to keep all the bathroom doors shut or we may find you playing in the toilet bowl or trying to brush your teeth.  You unplug the vacuum all the time while mommy is vacuuming the floors and then you giggle as if it were the coolest new game when mommy takes it away and reprimands you.  You throw toys and punches quite often, we're still working on breaking that habit.

You've started mimicking a lot of the sounds and words you hear us use, so your vocabulary is really starting to grow.  I'm still pretty much the only person who can understand you, though, with the exception of a few close family members.  But, that's to be expected.  I don't even know all the words you say now.  It's probably somewhere between 50-100 words with some phrases thrown in there too.

Here's a little walk down memory lane from your first few days of life ...

Fresh from the oven.

First family photo. (I'm sharing even though I'm a hot mess in it, lol)

Jacob's first time holding you.

 

Ready to go home!

 

First night at home.

Sweet sleepy baby. :)

Mommy milk coma.

Snuggled up in the moby wrap.

And, here are your birth time photos:

 

10/14/10 @ 12:56 PM

10/14/12 @ 12:56 PM 

(or as close to that as possible, lol)

Happy birthday, sweet Henry.  Our little magoo, peanut, and most recently, Henny Boo Boo ... we love you more than words can say, and can't wait to spend this next year learning and exploring with you.  xoxo

Love, 

Mommy

Next week ...

Next week is going to be pretty stressful for our little family.  On Tuesday John will be going in for a standard back operation.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous.  I always get nervous before any type of surgery - mine or someone else's that I love.  I can't remember all the medical terminology, but the bottom line is that one of his discs in his lower back is almost non-existent causing him tremendous pain all the time.  He's been in pain and it's been gradually getting worse for the past few years, so it's time to have this done.  I don't like the thought of it, but I know he's going to feel like a new man when it's all over with.

So, on Tuesday morning at 6:30 he will need to be at the hospital for his first surgery.  Yes, you read that right.  FIRST surgery.  The surgery should take about an hour.  Then on Thursday he will have his second surgery.  If I remember correctly from back in August when I went with him to the Spine Institute for the appointment where they went over all the surgery details, the first surgery is to remove the deteriorating disc and then the second one is to go back in and put a cage in between the two vertebrae.  I can't remember exactly why they can't just do it all once, but I know they can't.  :)  He'll probably be discharged to come home on Saturday or Sunday and then he'll spend about a month recovering at home.

I haven't shared any of this on Facebook, so only close friends and family know about it, but it's almost that time, so I want to document it (which is the main reason for my blog - to document our life together) and share with everyone what is going on. And, if I seem testy next week, this is why. :)  Please keep us all, but mainly John, in your thoughts and prayers next week, and I'll update after each surgery.  Thank you!!

Name Finger Painting Artwork!

We love doing art projects in our house, but haven't had a lot of time for it recently, so on Friday I set aside an hour to go outside with the kids and work on a finger painting project I had been wanting to do for some time.  It had been my plan all along (since we found out we were moving back over the summer) to make these name finger paintings and to then hang them on the wall in their playroom.  I think they turned out beautifully and can't wait to share them with you!!

The canvas I had bought back at the beginning of the summer when I was working on another art project, and they were on sale ... I think they were BOGO for a two-pack, so not too bad!  Anyway, I just used blue and green finger paints that we already had and some painters tape to tape the kids' names on the canvas.

Here is the before picture right after I taped their names ... 

Jacob was really into it and did a beautiful job.  Henry, however, wasn't too keen on getting dirty.  He put the paint on both hands and then just sort of looked at it, like, "I don't think so!"  Lol.  Jacob ended up painting both of them, but ya know ... that's what big brothers are for!

   

And, here are their finished paintings ...

This is what they look like hung up in their playroom.